As a result of Mayweather’s sentiment, as well as subsequent comments attributed to his son, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and his uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, Pacquiao filed a lawsuit against the trio in December of 2009 seeking compensatory and punitive damages for defamation of character

The suit named, in part, Mayweather, his father and his uncle, and alleged that they continued to imply publicly that Pacquiao’s success over eight weight classes resulted from his having used performance-enhancing drugs.

As part of the resolution, the Mayweathers issued a statement in which they denied they ever “intended to claim that Manny Pacquiao has used or is using any performance enhancing drugs.”

“Floyd Mayweather Jr., Floyd Mayweather Sr., Roger Mayweather and Mayweather Promotions wish to make it clear that they never intended to claim that Manny Pacquiao has used or is using any performance enhancing drugs,” read the prepared statement, issued from the San Francisco-based office of retired judge and mediator Daniel H. Weinstein.

“Nor are they aware of any evidence that Manny Pacquiao has used performance enhancing drugs. Manny Pacquiao is a great champion, and no one should construe any of our prior remarks as claiming that Manny Pacquiao has used performance enhancing drugs.”

Citing “a strict confidentiality” gag order that is a condition of the agreement between the two camps, Pacquiao’s advisor, Michael Koncz, referred questions to the fighter’s lawyers, David Marroso and Dan Petrocelli, of the Los Angeles-based O’Melveny and Myers law firm, who could be reached for an immediate comment.

Contacted by RingTV.com at his Wild Card Boxing Club on Wednesday, Roach kept his comment brief.

“They didn’t say anything about me, so I don’t really care,” said Roach. “It’s something I don’t want to get in the middle of. That’s between them.”

The Mayweather-Pacquiao settlement could pave the way for the highly coveted Mayweather-Pacquiao clash, since past negotiations between the boxers failed over the notion of drug testing.

In the meantime, Roach is training Pacquiao to face Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez a fourth time on Dec. 8 in Las Vegas. Pacquiao won a disputed majority decision in November, having also battled to a draw and a split decision victory over Marquez.

Roach confirmed the end of a relationship after 10 fights with ex-IBF and WBA junior welterweight titleholder Amir Khan (26-3, 18 KOs), who may have aligned himself with trainer Virgil Hunter in the wake of July’s fourth-round knockout loss to Danny Garcia, according to reports.

Roach said he did not believe that the absence of strength and conditioning guru Alex Ariza for only the second time in Khan’s past 10 fights was among the reasons for the loss to Garcia, whose triumph added Khan’s WBA belt as well as the division’s RING championship to the WBC crown he already owned.

In the Garcia fight, referee Kenny Bayless asked Khan if he still could continue before waving an end to the bout at 2 minutes 28 seconds following the third knockdown — the second of the fourth round.

Khan began working with Roach and Ariza following his 54-second knockout loss to Breidis Prescott as a lightweight in Sept. of 2008. From there, Khan won eight straight fights, four of them by knockout, and earned two title belts.

But the loss to Garcia was the second in a row for Khan, whose winning streak under Roach ended with December’s controversial split-decision loss to Lamont Peterson.

“If they can calm him down and get him not to exchange so much and get him to box a little bit more, being a great athlete, he’ll do much better,” said Roach. “But I don’t know if anyone can cange that though. Still, I wish him the best, and we’ll see what happens.”

OLYMPIAN MARCUS BROWNE SIGNS WITH AL HAYMON

Staten Island light heavyweight Marcus Browne, a 2012 U.S. Olympian, has signed with manager Al Haymon, who is regarded by many as the most powerful advisor in boxing, it was announced on Wednesday.

Browne was the first Atlas Cops and Kids Boxing Program product to compete in the Olympic Games, coming from a program founded by ESPN boxing analyst Teddy Atlas in memory of his late father’s non-profit Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation.

A two-time National Police Athletic League champion and 2012 USA Boxing National gold medalist, Browne is trained by Gary Stark at the Park Hill Boxing Club.

Junior welterweight Cleotis “Mookie” Pendarvis (16-3-1, 5 KO’s), of Los Angeles, has won five straight bouts under the guidance of manager Warren Wilkerson, who is targeting the 26-year-old for a return to the ring “at the end of November, or the first week of December.”

Wilkerson took over in June of 2010, shortly after Pendarvis had lost a split decision to Terrance Cauthen. Since then, Pendarvis has competed in four bouts as a welterweight, and one as a junior welterweight.

A slick-boxing southpaw who models himself after ex-titleholder Pernell Whitaker, Pendarvis hopes to break into the top tier of his division by next year.

“I think most of his career, he has been getting by on his talent. He’s gifted in the art of boxing, but was not committed to being in shape and learning more than what he already knew He had gotten to a certain level based only on talent, and he stayed right there,” said Wilkerson.

“But I’ve surrounded him with a trainer and people who are committed to him. My interest is in the direction of moving up the ranks of the IBF. I would like to fight a top 10 contender in the IBF, which would bring us close to an eliminator bout.”